You’ll find me wherever
the horses are.
I’m 15 and have been riding for nine years. I compete in hunters and equitation, and I’m a working student at Castlewood Farm in Wellington, Florida. I train with Alan Korotkin year-round.
I moved here from Long Island three years ago so I could ride more consistently. Both the barn and WEF are minutes from home. At Castlewood, I’ve been given more responsibilities as I’ve shown I can handle the workload.
I need to keep track of my day without losing track of theirs.
My show day starts early, with feed preparation, horse care, prep rides, and getting horses ready to show. I work with the grooms and fit those responsibilities around my own rides.
I also help younger pony riders with warm-ups and getting ready for the ring. Sometimes that means helping them focus or feel more confident.
It started with a scratch.
I was rushing to my ring after helping at another. When I got there, I ran toward our usual spot where the grooms keep our horses—but mine wasn’t there. So I had to scratch.
Yeah, they forgot, but it’s my horse. That was the moment that pushed me to figure out how to keep the day better organized so this wouldn’t happen again.
Now the whole barn uses it.
The first tools were for packing because it took the most time and caused the most stress. Then I made an app that took the show schedule and printed our horses next to their classes and times.
When we went to WEC for six weeks, I expanded the packing app and added WEC scheduling.
Then I created alerts for me and my groom—aka my mom. All of a sudden, my team was asking about them. Now they use them too.
I’ve been focusing on those alerts ever since, watching how they work and how to make them more useful without burying people in notifications.
What’s the holdup at 7?
Someone’s always texting a friend to ask. If you’re already there, you might know they’re still dragging, there are four left, or the walk just started.
That’s the idea behind RingWaze: people checked in at the ring could post what they see. Those posts would be visible to everyone, giving the rest of us more of a clue about what’s going on. They could even help RingStatus work out better estimated go times.
We should make RingWaze mix in some fun, too. If you’ve got ideas, I want to hear them.
If all this sounds useful for your barn, leave your email on our waiting list. We’re adding barns a few at a time.
I needed to get to the ring.
I built an app with my dad’s help to keep me, my horse, and my groom—aka my mom—on time. Between my own rides and my working-student responsibilities, I needed to know when things changed without checking the schedule all day.
Then my trainer, friends, and team wanted to use it too. Our whole barn has now used RingStatus for a year, including all of WEF 2026. I get the same texts and reminders they do, so when something isn’t helpful, I can change it. Now I’m working toward adding more barns for WEF 2027.
